ALL Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Tinubu yesterday said that he was confident of victory in the governorship and House of Assembly elections in Lagos State.
He described the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other smaller opposition parties in the Centre of Excellence as repeater stations, whose leaders only come out for periodic showmanship every four years before returning to their shells.
Predicting doom for the PDP flag bearer, Tinubu said APC will win and form the next government in Lagos State because it enjoyed popular support.
He said the progressive beat will not stop in Lagos because Lagosians have sealed a pact with the successive people-oriented administrations that have done the state proud since 1999.
Tinubu, who voted at his Unit 047, Sunday Adigun Street, Alausa, Ikeja around noon, said the PDP cannot match the ruling party in terms of strength, numerical support, achievements and prospects.
The party leader spoke in English and Yoruba to reporters on the importance of the polls, its implications for the future of Lagos, the futile agitation of the PDP for power shift and the hitch caused by corps members’ protest, which delayed the take-off of the exercise in some locations before their grievances were resolved by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Tinubu, who was inundated by complaints about the late-coming of polling officers to many units, said there was no cause for alarm, assuring that voters will return to the polling booths to cast their ballot.
He said: “Lagosians will come out to vote. They know that our government is not joking with their welfare, the provision of educational benefits and free medical services for children up to the age of 12. The voting is going on smoothly. Only those who are afraid will believe that people will not come out to vote. We are not afraid.
“We know what Lagos wants. Lagos wants progress and development. We want our children to make progress. We want the children to be better than us. We want them to become lawyers, judges, doctors, honourables. Why would they not vote? We give them free education. We pay their NECO fees. We pay their WAEC fees. We give them free JAMB forms. They go to clinics and take free drugs and they are treated freely if they are not more than 12 years of age. We set up vocational institutes for them. They learn trades.”
The former governor said the foundation for future progress and prosperity laid by the successive governments has been sustained in the interest of Lagosians.
He alluded to the increasing monthly internally generated revenue, road construction, infrastructure battles, urban renewal and rural development programmes of the administrations in the last 20 years.
Tinubu said Lagosians voted for the APC in appreciation of the giant strides and expectation of predictable developmental policies and programmes that the incoming government will strategically implement.
He said many non-indigenes have been trooping to Lagos in search of the Golden Fleece because the state is working, productive, attractive and accommodating to all ethnic groups.
Tinubu stressed: “We cannot stop the non-indigenes from coming to Lagos. If Lagos is not good, they will not come. If there are diseases in Lagos, they will not come. If there are upheavals here, if there is lack of jobs here, they will not be coming. Those leaving their towns and trooping into Lagos, we cannot say they should not come. We cannot say that they are giving us burden. The rest I cannot say.”
Chiding the change campaigners on the borrowed platform of ‘O to ge,’ Tinubu said those behind the unwarranted agitations wallowed in ignorance, stressing that Lagos State is different from Kwara State.
He said: “There is a limit to copy cast. Lagos State should be ‘O to pe,’ (Lagos should be thankful to God. Lagos has recorded tremendous developments since I was governor. The internally generated revenue of the state that we inherited was N600 million. Today, it is over N30 billion.
“No nation, state has achieved financial independence as Lagos. Other states depend on allocations from the Federal Government. We do not depend on any allocation before we meet the capital needs, build roads; starting from Oregun Road. The real estate worth of Lagos to property owners is exponentially better than any state in this country. Lagos has become the fifth largest economy in Africa. Let me see the governor, the leader who has done that.”
Exuding confidence, he added: “We are going to win. We are the only party in Lagos. The rest are repeater stations. They come every four years and they go back again like craps. There is nothing like threats to the APC. A rolling stone gathers no moss. There is no PDP in Lagos. Leopard cannot change its skin. The state belongs to the progressives. We are progressives and we are going to win this election.”
Tinubu reflected on the previous presidential and National Assembly polls, saying that the media reports exaggerated the Okota incident.
He said: “In terms of security, Lagos is always ready to celebrate democracy. It is still violence-free. I take exception to the Okota incidence of two weeks ago. I am very upset about that. Our people are not violence-prone. If we have 1, 325 polling units and only five units were affected by the Okota incident; we should not classify that as serious. That is negligible.
“How significant is five units out of 1,325 units that you now classify Lagos as violent? You are not doing justice to us. You are not doing justice to the economy. You are not doing justice to your own medium. You are not doing justice to INEC.”
The Iyaloja-General of Lagos, Chief Folasade Tinubu-Ojo, who also voted at the unit, applauded the peaceful conduct of polls, urging Lagosians to sustain the tempo of harmony.
She lamented the delay caused by the corps members’ protest, taking solace in the extension of voting hours by the umpire.
Tinubu-Ojo said: “The exercise has been peaceful. People came in the morning, but they returned because INEC officials were not ready. But, I know they will come back now that voting has started.”
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